Pretty happy, I've never been disappointed to draw one. Trades with a lot of creatures, chumps big ones, draws out removal clearing the way for bigger threats and replaces itself. And ever so sweet when one dies and you reveal another one from its death trigger.
Matter Reshaper is the real deal. It is card advantage on a stick, and makes for an excellent T2 play where Strangler might lose value for lack of targets or processor fuel. Even better than flipping a second Reshaper when the first dies, to my way of thinking, is flipping a Strangler that can process and kill something else--sometimes even the big thing that killed the Reshaper in the first place. I would love to have room for a 4th Reshaper in my deck.
I find the dig ability of this build pretty key to my success, with Relic, Mind Stone, Reshaper, and Sea Gate Wreckage all doing their part.
On another topic, and IMHO and FWIW and YMMV, I don't think I could ever play around Blood Moon as successfully as I do (and I do--I really do not worry about Moon decks anymore) without three Marsh Flats and a Wastes in the 75. Wastes bumps a utility land, and Flats is expensive and narrow in terms of the decks that might play it, but if you want this deck to reach its full potential, I think both are needed. Might not be so important in a FNM-type meta but in a wider field they will make a difference for sure.
Matter Reshaper is the real deal. It is card advantage on a stick, and makes for an excellent T2 play where Strangler might lose value for lack of targets or processor fuel. Even better than flipping a second Reshaper when the first dies, to my way of thinking, is flipping a Strangler that can process and kill something else--sometimes even the big thing that killed the Reshaper in the first place. I would love to have room for a 4th Reshaper in my deck.
That's why I've gone down to 3 strangler and 4 reshapers, I'd love to have 4 of each but it's really hard to make that happen as I don't want to take anything else out. Other than the situations you mentioned (reshaper being much better T2 play, flipping a strangler with the trigger), being able to target reshaper in order to process a search for tomorrow or Ancestral Vision is much better than having to target the strangler itself. These reasons are why I run 4 reshapers, the biggest being I really really like reshaper as a T2 play and want that as often as possible, and strangler is more difficult to guarantee value beyond a 3/2 body. If you play a reshaper you are highly likely going to get value from the trigger, or from them pathing it, thus having one less removal for a TKS/Smasher followup. Ideally I'd have 4 of each, but it's hard to get 16 creatures in the maindeck. Oh, I also forgot, getting a reshaper trigger into a land ramp or them pathing it for ramp before your T3 is really good with smasher (obviously if you dropped a T2 reshaper you've got the temple).
Hey! I'm a long time lurker on this thread, as i'm building the deck on paper and soon will start my takes on local tournaments. Proxying it right now playing with friends and the deck is awesome! Not uber strong as some of the tiers, but I feel it is really really fun to play with so much strong cards as reality smasher, TKS, strangler, sorin in the same shell.
Right now i'm trying 2 thought seizes and 2 brutality, but feel like only 2 T1 discard is a little risky on the current meta. Also playing a split of 2 matter reshapers and 2 displacers, the latter as a threat removal more than a TKS blinker. reseting a Delver or tapping some troublesome creatures to land TKS blows is really good, because of lack of evasion.
Also thiking of dropping sea gate wreakage for a second vault or OGT oran-rif.
Yesterday I saw a list somewhere running 1-of Phyrexian metamorph. Do you think it could be a thing? as a 5th smasher/TKS?
Turn 1 discard is never risky. It helps us plan out our remaining turns and we can remove their best card from their hand. It is amazing if they mulligan and keep a shaky hand. Discard through thoughtseize or inquisition of kozilek is one of the main reasons to run B.
Phyrexian metamorph is horrible when we don't have a board presence. I would rather play something else.
So here's my list and SB guide I ran at the FtF 3k open last week with 176 players. I'm interested in peoples thoughts on the SB guide. If they agree or disagree with choices. Any questions on my choices feel free to ask.
Edit: PtE = Path to exile, TS = thoughtsezie, IoK = inquisition of kozilek, RoP = relic of progenitus, CoBr = collective brutality, GtfT = Go for the throat, Dec = Declaration in Stone, BA = Blessed alliance
Thanks for the nice sideboard guide! I do have a few comments/questions:
Infect
You should board in warping wail rather than a sorcery speed removal (declaration in stone) and a card that cannot hit lands (ratchet bomb)
Affinity
Zealous persecution is great in this matchup. Looking at your decklist I would try something like this:
Out: relic x4, thoughtseize x2, iok x2, go for the throat
In: ratchet, disenchant, zealous, declaration, pithing, languish, stony x2, damnation x1
Soul sisters
Discard is not as great in this matchup. All of their creatures have such a low CMC that they just dump their hand in the first couple of turns. I would side out the relics before matter reshaper. Bring in that disenchant to take care of honor of the pure.
Why do you bring in warping wail for blue moon?
You should try out a worship in the side sometime. Some decks cannot beat it.
This card seems insane for us, as it doesn't kill our big dudes, and deals with selfless spirit
Sadly it is not for us. It would be good in a bw deadguy ale brew. I was hoping for a -3/-3 3CMC sweeper instead. That would be great against zoo decks.
The worst part about this card is that now we know damnation will not be reprinted.
Hey! I'm a long time lurker on this thread, as i'm building the deck on paper and soon will start my takes on local tournaments. Proxying it right now playing with friends and the deck is awesome! Not uber strong as some of the tiers, but I feel it is really really fun to play with so much strong cards as reality smasher, TKS, strangler, sorin in the same shell.
Right now i'm trying 2 thought seizes and 2 brutality, but feel like only 2 T1 discard is a little risky on the current meta. Also playing a split of 2 matter reshapers and 2 displacers, the latter as a threat removal more than a TKS blinker. reseting a Delver or tapping some troublesome creatures to land TKS blows is really good, because of lack of evasion.
Also thiking of dropping sea gate wreakage for a second vault or OGT oran-rif.
Yesterday I saw a list somewhere running 1-of Phyrexian metamorph. Do you think it could be a thing? as a 5th smasher/TKS?
Turn 1 discard is never risky. It helps us plan out our remaining turns and we can remove their best card from their hand. It is amazing if they mulligan and keep a shaky hand. Discard through thoughtseize or inquisition of kozilek is one of the main reasons to run B.
Phyrexian metamorph is horrible when we don't have a board presence. I would rather play something else.
So here's my list and SB guide I ran at the FtF 3k open last week with 176 players. I'm interested in peoples thoughts on the SB guide. If they agree or disagree with choices. Any questions on my choices feel free to ask.
Edit: PtE = Path to exile, TS = thoughtsezie, IoK = inquisition of kozilek, RoP = relic of progenitus, CoBr = collective brutality, GtfT = Go for the throat, Dec = Declaration in Stone, BA = Blessed alliance
Thanks for the nice sideboard guide! I do have a few comments/questions:
Infect
You should board in warping wail rather than a sorcery speed removal (declaration in stone) and a card that cannot hit lands (ratchet bomb)
Affinity
Zealous persecution is great in this matchup. Looking at your decklist I would try something like this:
Out: relic x4, thoughtseize x2, iok x2, go for the throat
In: ratchet, disenchant, zealous, declaration, pithing, languish, stony x2, damnation x1
Soul sisters
Discard is not as great in this matchup. All of their creatures have such a low CMC that they just dump their hand in the first couple of turns. I would side out the relics before matter reshaper. Bring in that disenchant to take care of honor of the pure.
Why do you bring in warping wail for blue moon?
You should try out a worship in the side sometime. Some decks cannot beat it.
This card seems insane for us, as it doesn't kill our big dudes, and deals with selfless spirit
Sadly it is not for us. It would be good in a bw deadguy ale brew. I was hoping for a -3/-3 3CMC sweeper instead. That would be great against zoo decks.
The worst part about this card is that now we know damnation will not be reprinted.
Infect: Yes, I do like warping wail against infect rather than bomb and declaration. I'll try it out.
Affinity: Again everything you say makes perfect sense. Better choices than I what I initial had.
Blue moon: Depending on the list warping wail can hit TiTi or can make a scion in response to BM giving you access to C which is super crucial if there is no mind stone/wastes out.
Souls sisters: I've honestly never played against it I just know it exists.
Yes I know all about worship. It can be pretty silly and give you a win where you have no right winning!
So here's my list and SB guide I ran at the FtF 3k open last week with 176 players. I'm interested in peoples thoughts on the SB guide. If they agree or disagree with choices. Any questions on my choices feel free to ask.
Edit: PtE = Path to exile, TS = thoughtsezie, IoK = inquisition of kozilek, RoP = relic of progenitus, CoBr = collective brutality, GtfT = Go for the throat, Dec = Declaration in Stone, BA = Blessed alliance
Bant Eldrazi - Definitely bring in Blessed Alliance here. Usually only the sacrifice is relevant, but hitting a TKS or Smasher with it will happen very often, which is great. You've got relics to take out for them, they are way better than a cantrip here. I had not been bringing Pithing Needle in for this matchup, I overlooked how crazy the Displacer/Drowner combo can destroy us late in a stalled board-state. I run two Pithings and I think I'll try bringing them in and taking out more copies of Lingering Souls. Souls is quite weak against any deck running maindeck EE/ratchet and Smashers.
Speaking of Pithing Needles, I'm not sure if this is agreed upon widely, but personally I bring them in against any Sakura-Tribe Elder decks, pretty much Breach and Valakut. The way I see it is shutting down Tribe elder will slow them down, and that is exactly what we need to do in both matchups, be faster.
R/G Tron - Not sure if GftT is worth keeping in for pretty much just World Breaker, which is better to exile anyway.
Kiki Chord - I keep Thoughtseize in here, wanting as much hand removal to keep them off a T4 kiki combo. Obviously seize isn't great with their graveyard play through Eternal Witness, but I see Lingering Souls as weak in this matchup so I take two copies of that out instead. Not sure who's plan is better here, just mentioning that I do this matchup differently.
Cards - It seems Warping Wail is not brought in very often, especially against the higher % played decks. Maybe its a local metal choice and does work, but if it's not I suggest taking them out. I see Collective Brutality as basically a better version of WW, especially when the biggest draw to both is stopping a powerful sorcery (CoBr insant as well). With two open slots in the SB I'd bring in a second pithing needle, insta win in some games and useful in so many matchups. Your SB guide inspired me to rewrite one up for my current list, and out of 32+ matchups I bring Pithing in for 20, and in quite a few drawing both is great (infect and affinity for example). With the other slot without a doubt Anguished Unmaking. I see having one in the 75 minimum as highly important. Problem permanents (Ensnaring Bridge) and matchups where it shines (Tron/Infect) make it an asset that needs to be something you can bring in for G2 and 3.
I've also recently learned that at FNM you are allowed to have sideboard notes, you're just only allowed to look at them during sideboarding between games. It's a crutch I can use since I've only been playing mtg for basically a year and there's no way I can mentally catalog 30+ possible decks to face, and what to take out or bring in for them all. Also, running into time and losing or tying because of it sucks, so speeding up the sideboard part of the match is good, especially if you have no clue what to do in a certain matchup.
I like skite to interrupt buff decks like infect and bogles(as well as for stopping opponent's path on my TKS or smasher, when I hear 'in response to thought-knots trigger, path it', I die a little inside. It's just a solid T2 play to protect a T3 followup TKS or if the mtg gods are shining down on me T3 smasher), fulminator to slow down land decks like tron and valakut, and EE for asap removal of wide and/or fast aggro. Everything else is pretty standard for the sideboard.
Here's what Ive got(copying your framework out of laziness which I will play off as efficiency, I will say though not much a fan of the PtE abbreviation as it's only one letter shorter than path). Also the link in my sig is up to date list + sideboard:
PtE = Path to exile, TS = thoughtseize, IoK = inquisition of kozilek, RoP = relic of progenitus, CoBr = collective brutality, GtfT = Go for the throat, Dec = Declaration in Stone, BA = Blessed alliance
Deck: Soul Sisters
Out: -3 TS, -1 dismember, -1 PtE, -1 RoP (couldn't decide on Path or relic, relic seeming relevant because of Proclimation of Rebirth, but I had to look up a list on Mtggoldfish because Ive personally never played this matchup. It says 50% of decks run 3 copies, so maybe the decision comes down to whether you see it in game 1. I also see T2 reshaper as very relevant against their quick open)
In: +2 Damnation, +1 anguish, +1 Pithing, +2 EE
Deck: TiTi Ascension
Out: -4 souls (honestly not liking this choice, but I see relic as very key if you don't have removal for Ascension. If that thing goes off, with how much they can dig they can take the game over very fast. Paths need to stay in for TiTi removal, and I feel like all the eldrazi need to stay in for pressure because we need to be faster)
In: +2 EE, +1 anguish, +1 CoBr
Nice posts guys! Personally I don't use an SB guide but lots of players really find them super useful. This is a really good way to promote the kind of discussion I was thinking of.
I went 4-0-1 and ID'ed final round to tie for first last might; played the match out with my opponent for fun and beat hm 2-0. We had 32 players last night.
vs. BG Rock: 2-1 (1-0)
In G1 he out valued me with 2 Scooze, 2 Kitchen Finks, and a Kalitas, but I was able to pull out G2 after killing a Scooze with Collective Brutality and taking his Maelstrom Pulse off a discard. In G3, Vault allowed my Smasher to push through his blockers for exactsies on T4 of rounds for the win.
vs. Mono-B Devotion: 2-0 (2-0)
In G1 he was not able to apply much pressure as I took his hand apart with Thoughtseize and TKS; G2 saw him fall to a huge flood of Swamps that he flipped off Bob for many turns in a row. I got lucky in this game after a dubious keep. Smasher proved himself as a planeswalker-destroyer again in dealing with a Lili that otherwise was able to get my creatures and shred my hand.
vs. UG Infect: (2-0) (3-0)
A highly favored match for Processors went as it could be expected to. Drew all three Ghost Quarters in G! and with a couple of Lingering Souls and some removal from Strangler I found an easy win. The threat we really care about here is Blighted Agent, which I saw two of in my opponent's hand on my first turn in G2. I sat on a Path and allowed him to hit me with the Agent I left him, plus a Become Immense I know he had, suspecting he had the Vines or Blooming Defense to back it up, and knowing I would be able to get his Agent with my Ratchet Bomb next turn regardless. (herfs, I disagree about Bomb/Explosives against Infect. Added removal is always good in this match and the artifacts will kill dudes regardless of hexproof effects.) This paid off for me as his sole remaining threat--an Inkmoth Nexus--wasn't able to push through my Spirits.
vs. Jund: 2-1 (4-0)
My opponent was a little salty that I'd kept am opener with a fetch land, two Temples, Ghost Quarter, Caves of Koilos and two Lingering Souls. He was forced to Thoughtseize a Souls as I drew into the threats I had hoped to see when I kept. I won that game handily after I drew into Sorin. I lost G2 to a Kalitas for which I had no removal. Kalitas is by far Jund's best threat against us, and is always priority #1 for me to deal with when I see it. G3 was pretty easy as I drew into a lot of removal and had 2x Smasher for a rapid close.
vs. Naya Burn: ID, but played it out going 2-0 (4-0-1)
My opponent dropped a Nacatl and a suspended Rift Bolt on his T2, which I was happy to ruin with a Strangler on my next turn. Collective Brutality for all three modes helped seal the deal as I discarded some useless Relics. In G2 he played too conservatively, holding back from aggressive attacks into a Strangler and a Reshaper until I drew into both Smasher and Vault, which easily put the game away.
I guess I'm not really in the right headspace to write a bunch about sideboarding right now. However I will say that Pithing Needle is huge and comes in a lot; Ratchet Bomb is useful in a wide variety of matches from aggro to prison decks, and Anguished Unmaking as a 2-of in the 75 seems to answer a huge number of troublesome permanents. Collective Brutality is amazing, but recently Blessed Alliance has not lived up to its early promise for me. That might be because I just haven't had it in hand at the right time though.
I'm always scratching my head about relic of progenitus wether to board it out entirely or not.
It just feels dead / slow against some decks and i haven't got enough Stuff to board in here.
If you look for the times I take out all 4 RoP in the list I wrote up, it happens only in matchups where they have ZERO graveyard play and I'm siding in like 7-9 cards and need to make some room (affinity, Bant Eldrazi, Tron). The cantrip of a T1 or T2 relic for card advantage is something to not undervalue, and as Deaddrift states, the ability to dig through the deck is very important as our deck consists of 3 things - threats, removal, ways to dig for them. Also a topdeck relic late isn't really that bad, as you can probably play it and crack it for a new card right away. It's not like topping a Thoughtseize after T5 bad. If there's an opportunity at all to get value from the graveyard exile ability on RoP, I'm definitely doing everything I can to keep it in. It's just such a value card against the graveyard play that is all over modern.
edit: I've also had incredibly durdly opens where I go through 3 relics and both mind stones by turn 5-6 and don't get threats, but I don't think that means the cards are bad for the deck, just variance.
i went for a 1-3 at my local playgroup yesterday.
Has been screwed very often and drew teh wrong side of my deck.
Round 1: BW Tokens
I mulled to 5. First i had 2 Lands, but no Spell below 3cmc, 2nd i got only 1 Land.
I've kept a 2 Lander w/o any real business at all.
Macht 2 i dropped Eldrazi's and he slowrolled and flooded out. 1-1
Match 3 i had to mull again and he had double Virtue into Souls + spectral procession.
I chumped for 2 turns but my lonely Smasher couldn't keep up with teh pressure. 1-2
Round 2: UWr Nahiri
I had to mull again. He suspended ancestral vision, but sadly my Strangler wasn't nowhere.
He drew into 3 Cards and killed me with Celestial Colonnade and snapcaster Beatdown. 0-1
His Vision resolved and drew him some removal, but that wasn't finally enough. 1-1
Match 3 brought down to trading stuff. He handled both of my shambling vent but Smasher put
him down quickly. 2-1
Round 3: Bogles
Match 1 she had a Bogle with Enchantments and beats me for 6 Lifelink evey turn. 0-1
Match 2 i saw only Creatures on her side and my Eldrazi's attacked relentless until the win. 1-1
Match 3 there was a Bogle and a bunch of enchantments. When she casted Rancor, i
responded with Anguished for Umbra and her Daybreak coronet were gone too. Sadly
she held a 2nd one in hand and beats me to death. 1-2
Round 4: UR TiTi
Match 1 i doom bladed his TiTi, but he followed up with a 2nd one. This one flips
as i saw no removal. I chumped some turns but couldn't keep up with a 7/8. 0-1
Match 2 i was droppin' Names and beat him down constantly. I took care of his creatures and
went for the win. 1-1
Match 3 i was on teh backfoot again (mull to 5, 2 swamp as my only lands).
I beat him with Smasher and Sorin in Game, trying to stabilize on 6 life. Awoken Horror
beats my, but i hoped to race him with Sorin + Smasher (i had no other outs). He finally brought me
down to 4, i stripped a Bolt from his Hand. He drew into a Swiftspear + Bolt which sealed teh deal.
1-2
Overall thoughts:
Teh Matches were i couldn't establish board-presence and apply pressure were horribly.
I feel teh need of always keeping a hand with at least 2 Eldrazi's to even get things going.
The hands with lingering souls felt super-clunky and it was the CArd that disappoints
me teh most yesterday.
I proclaimed that i was screwed with many Opening hands and you advise to cut mind stone?
Sounds like a great tip (not so much).
And Scourge? Do i need another 3/x to beef up my squad?
Sadly this one doesn't really give me direct Card Advantage.
Instead i need to pay 3 over and over again.
14 Creatures were plenty enough. Even worse, tehy cluttered my hand many times.
An opener with a bunch of 3-,4- and 5-Drops is only reliable with a Temple or Mind stone.
24 lands is more than enough, getting mana screwed happens and I don't think it is for lack of mana sources in your deck.
Eternal Scourge is a great creature which can't be killed (especially with Relic) and with Eldrazi Temple it basically costs 2-mana and makes opponents removal become Unsummon.
Hume86,
I wouldn't play Ulamog's Nullifier as it's not good enough and overcosted (and you already have Delay to counter spells). Spell Queller would be much better instead.
B.Herder and W.Strangler seem like the only worthwhile processors.
i went for a 1-3 at my local playgroup yesterday.
Has been screwed very often and drew teh wrong side of my deck.
Round 1: BW Tokens
I mulled to 5. First i had 2 Lands, but no Spell below 3cmc, 2nd i got only 1 Land.
I've kept a 2 Lander w/o any real business at all.
Macht 2 i dropped Eldrazi's and he slowrolled and flooded out. 1-1
Match 3 i had to mull again and he had double Virtue into Souls + spectral procession.
I chumped for 2 turns but my lonely Smasher couldn't keep up with teh pressure. 1-2
Round 2: UWr Nahiri
I had to mull again. He suspended ancestral vision, but sadly my Strangler wasn't nowhere.
He drew into 3 Cards and killed me with Celestial Colonnade and snapcaster Beatdown. 0-1
His Vision resolved and drew him some removal, but that wasn't finally enough. 1-1
Match 3 brought down to trading stuff. He handled both of my shambling vent but Smasher put
him down quickly. 2-1
Round 3: Bogles
Match 1 she had a Bogle with Enchantments and beats me for 6 Lifelink evey turn. 0-1
Match 2 i saw only Creatures on her side and my Eldrazi's attacked relentless until the win. 1-1
Match 3 there was a Bogle and a bunch of enchantments. When she casted Rancor, i
responded with Anguished for Umbra and her Daybreak coronet were gone too. Sadly
she held a 2nd one in hand and beats me to death. 1-2
Round 4: UR TiTi
Match 1 i doom bladed his TiTi, but he followed up with a 2nd one. This one flips
as i saw no removal. I chumped some turns but couldn't keep up with a 7/8. 0-1
Match 2 i was droppin' Names and beat him down constantly. I took care of his creatures and
went for the win. 1-1
Match 3 i was on teh backfoot again (mull to 5, 2 swamp as my only lands).
I beat him with Smasher and Sorin in Game, trying to stabilize on 6 life. Awoken Horror
beats my, but i hoped to race him with Sorin + Smasher (i had no other outs). He finally brought me
down to 4, i stripped a Bolt from his Hand. He drew into a Swiftspear + Bolt which sealed teh deal.
1-2
Overall thoughts:
Teh Matches were i couldn't establish board-presence and apply pressure were horribly.
I feel teh need of always keeping a hand with at least 2 Eldrazi's to even get things going.
The hands with lingering souls felt super-clunky and it was the CArd that disappoints
me teh most yesterday.
Lingering souls is such a good card. Sure it's not great against a token deck where their focus is to make linger souls busted but not all cards are good against all match ups. On the other hand having them against BGx decks when they play a lili is just sweet. If you're really against it cut and try out something else. Don't trade away your souls tho' because you're going to come back to them.
I tried scourge for a while. It's great against grindy match ups (GBx) but overall was underwhelming. Quite slow. Sure it's a 2 mana 3/3 every turn when you've got a relic but that's a three card combo that doesn't do all that much.
So here's my list and SB guide I ran at the FtF 3k open last week with 176 players. I'm interested in peoples thoughts on the SB guide. If they agree or disagree with choices. Any questions on my choices feel free to ask.
Edit: PtE = Path to exile, TS = thoughtsezie, IoK = inquisition of kozilek, RoP = relic of progenitus, CoBr = collective brutality, GtfT = Go for the throat, Dec = Declaration in Stone, BA = Blessed alliance
Bant Eldrazi - Definitely bring in Blessed Alliance here. Usually only the sacrifice is relevant, but hitting a TKS or Smasher with it will happen very often, which is great. You've got relics to take out for them, they are way better than a cantrip here. I had not been bringing Pithing Needle in for this matchup, I overlooked how crazy the Displacer/Drowner combo can destroy us late in a stalled board-state. I run two Pithings and I think I'll try bringing them in and taking out more copies of Lingering Souls. Souls is quite weak against any deck running maindeck EE/ratchet and Smashers.
Speaking of Pithing Needles, I'm not sure if this is agreed upon widely, but personally I bring them in against any Sakura-Tribe Elder decks, pretty much Breach and Valakut. The way I see it is shutting down Tribe elder will slow them down, and that is exactly what we need to do in both matchups, be faster.
R/G Tron - Not sure if GftT is worth keeping in for pretty much just World Breaker, which is better to exile anyway.
Kiki Chord - I keep Thoughtseize in here, wanting as much hand removal to keep them off a T4 kiki combo. Obviously seize isn't great with their graveyard play through Eternal Witness, but I see Lingering Souls as weak in this matchup so I take two copies of that out instead. Not sure who's plan is better here, just mentioning that I do this matchup differently.
Cards - It seems Warping Wail is not brought in very often, especially against the higher % played decks. Maybe its a local metal choice and does work, but if it's not I suggest taking them out. I see Collective Brutality as basically a better version of WW, especially when the biggest draw to both is stopping a powerful sorcery (CoBr insant as well). With two open slots in the SB I'd bring in a second pithing needle, insta win in some games and useful in so many matchups. Your SB guide inspired me to rewrite one up for my current list, and out of 32+ matchups I bring Pithing in for 20, and in quite a few drawing both is great (infect and affinity for example). With the other slot without a doubt Anguished Unmaking. I see having one in the 75 minimum as highly important. Problem permanents (Ensnaring Bridge) and matchups where it shines (Tron/Infect) make it an asset that needs to be something you can bring in for G2 and 3.
I've also recently learned that at FNM you are allowed to have sideboard notes, you're just only allowed to look at them during sideboarding between games. It's a crutch I can use since I've only been playing mtg for basically a year and there's no way I can mentally catalog 30+ possible decks to face, and what to take out or bring in for them all. Also, running into time and losing or tying because of it sucks, so speeding up the sideboard part of the match is good, especially if you have no clue what to do in a certain matchup.
I like skite to interrupt buff decks like infect and bogles(as well as for stopping opponent's path on my TKS or smasher, when I hear 'in response to thought-knots trigger, path it', I die a little inside. It's just a solid T2 play to protect a T3 followup TKS or if the mtg gods are shining down on me T3 smasher), fulminator to slow down land decks like tron and valakut, and EE for asap removal of wide and/or fast aggro. Everything else is pretty standard for the sideboard.
Here's what Ive got(copying your framework out of laziness which I will play off as efficiency, I will say though not much a fan of the PtE abbreviation as it's only one letter shorter than path). Also the link in my sig is up to date list + sideboard:
PtE = Path to exile, TS = thoughtseize, IoK = inquisition of kozilek, RoP = relic of progenitus, CoBr = collective brutality, GtfT = Go for the throat, Dec = Declaration in Stone, BA = Blessed alliance
Deck: Soul Sisters
Out: -3 TS, -1 dismember, -1 PtE, -1 RoP (couldn't decide on Path or relic, relic seeming relevant because of Proclimation of Rebirth, but I had to look up a list on Mtggoldfish because Ive personally never played this matchup. It says 50% of decks run 3 copies, so maybe the decision comes down to whether you see it in game 1. I also see T2 reshaper as very relevant against their quick open)
In: +2 Damnation, +1 anguish, +1 Pithing, +2 EE
Deck: TiTi Ascension
Out: -4 souls (honestly not liking this choice, but I see relic as very key if you don't have removal for Ascension. If that thing goes off, with how much they can dig they can take the game over very fast. Paths need to stay in for TiTi removal, and I feel like all the eldrazi need to stay in for pressure because we need to be faster)
In: +2 EE, +1 anguish, +1 CoBr
This isn't even close to perfect, and I'm definitely looking for criticism or ideas to make this list better.
Bant Eldrazi: Yeh I like BA here and pithing needle is huge for the reasons you stated.
Valakut: So you bring in pithing needle of the Elder. Interesting. I'll try that out next time.
RG tron: is not a match up I've faced too often so I don't have a huge amount of exp against it. You be right to keep GftT in.
Kiki chord: I find their overwhelming redundancy makes TS next to useless.
Wail was included because of the large amount of RG ponza decks being played at my store. Blood moons and stone rains everywhere. But yeah, 2nd pithing needle will come in. I'll try out unmaking too.
I'll take a proper look over your SB guide later but don't you just slide in all your SB against mill? Their plan is to mill so having more cards is like having more life. I'd start at 22.5 life against burn if I could game 2.
I'll take a proper look over your SB guide later but don't you just slide in all your SB against mill? Their plan is to mill so having more cards is like having more life. I'd start at 22.5 life against burn if I could game 2.
I think it's best to only bring in relevant SB cards and trim nothing against mill. We are still racing them and drawing a dead card like stony silence or Damnation is really bad.
When I play against Mill decks I side in any cards I think might be relevant, but I don't side out any cards.
I too play Needle against Scapeshift; some newer players even let you name a fetch land with it when they have one in play, which can really shut them down. If they crack in response, I name Elder, and that has won me games before more than once. I have also seen decks with Khalni Heart Expedition, which is another good target.
I don't like Go for the Throat against Gx Tron, because of Wurmcoil, but my other creature removal is relevant, coming to replace Relics and Sorin.
All the creature removal is relevant for in the Bant Eldrazi match; Needle comes in to name Displacer (or possibly another target like Spellskite, Engineered Explosives, or Drowner of Hope, depending on the board state when I land it).
Here is a brief overview of what I have my SB cards for, not sure if this will be helpful or not:
Anguished Unmaking: One main and one side for artifacts, enchantments, planeswalkers, and creatures as well. Bad against decks that can burn you out (though it is one of a very few ways in Modern to get rid of Keranos), and against fast and wide decks without Vial, like 8-whack or Elves.
Collective Brutality: Also one main/one side for me, adds a little incidental lifegain, takes instants or sorceries of any mana cost, kills small guys, it's a real Swiss Army knife. Unbelievably good against Burn.
Pithing Needle: I run two SB. This card comes in all the time as a catch-all answer and is outstanding tech against many non-creature based decks. I LOVE hitting an unsuspecting opponent by pinning an un-cracked fetch. A tempo swing like that can be game over with a little luck, but I normally use it for manlands, Affinity, Jund, planeswalkers in general, and all kinds of other stuff like Scooze, Viscera Seer, KotR, etc. etc. etc. This is a key card against Tron; if you can land a Stony Silence, plus a Needle naming Karn, you are in very good shape.
Blessed Alliance: Also two SB. Can be very good against aggro, especially late game when you can escalate it. Comes in against Burn and aggro decks of all kinds. Surprise blocking is great and gives game against Suicide Zoo, Infect, and even Bogles, which last can be near-unwinnable without this card (or some more specialized, less broadly useful replacement that the deck doesn't have room for). Can be pretty bad when faced with multiple attackers though.
Ratchet Bomb: Again two in the side. As I mentioned I prefer this to EE because it hits planeswalkers (I have ticked it to 4 for Nahiri, and to 5 for Gideon Jura before, to very good effect) and it hits 3 mana enchantments like Moon and Bridge. It is one turn slower against 1-drop creature aggro decks, and two turns slower (though it is not mana-restricted like EE is) against 2-drop decks like Merfolk or Affinity, but its far broader utility seems like the right choice to me.
Surgical Extraction: This card was long a favorite of mine and I ran it as a one main/three side for a long time, but I took it out and have only recently brought it back as a two-of in the side--primarily because four Relics are not enough for Dredge, in my experience. I hope to hit it against Tron and Valakut decks too, as it can be a very powerful combo with Ghost Quarter. Against most decks it is more likely to be card disadvantage than anything else, though. Paying Phyrexian mana for this card makes it many times better than Extirpate, in my experience.
Stony Silence: Unbeatable tech against Affinity and Gx Tron decks, but I am not in love with it for Lantern because it shuts down a Bomb I might happen to draw--and Bridge, not mill, is Lantern's real win-con. I still waffle back and forth about siding this in for Vial decks but I almost never do. Right now I have only one in the side but I may soon go back to two.
Timely Reinforcements: Buys breathing room (which is important for this deck) against Burn and aggro, one in the side seems fine to me. I'm not actually hugely impressed with this card but it has a role to play.
Declaration in Stone: I am just about over this one. I brought it in as Dredge hate and multi-purpose crappy creature removal, but the investigate clause means it is a 0-for-1 on its face. Could maybe be another sweeper, or possibly a Journey to Nowhere, since part of the idea for this one was to feed Strangler in matches where Relic should come out. Would be real good in a meta full of BW Tokens or Young Pyro decks, but that's what Bomb is for right?
Damnation: Just ordered two to replace the ones I traded away. Uses should be obvious, but BB is no joke when (as is so often the case) you really NEED to land it T4. I run one currently, but have almost always had two before now.
Wastes: If Blood Moon goes away I will probably take this one-of out but for now I see it as a must. The plan vs. Moon is:
- A) Make sure I get a Plains using Flats or GQ
- B) Use Path to hit one of my own dudes, hopefully a Spirit token or possibly Strangler
- C) Get a Swamp with the Path unless I really need C right away for some reason. Since I have a Wastes and two Mind Stones, my odds of drawing into a colorless mana source are better than drawing into B and much better than drawing into W.
I also swap Wastes in for any and all matches where I expect Path or Ghost Quarter to be used against me; but I prefer it in the side, since Cavern is so enormously helpful against blue decks, and Vault is an important lifegain card that synergizes extremely well with our two most important win-cons: Smasher and Souls. Since these utility lands are not tutorable the way Wastes is, it seems wiser to me to main them, and side them out as appropriate, so I get maximum percentage out of each.
On another note, I went 1-3 on Monday in a field of ~30. Not my night.
vs. Suicide Bloo: 0-2 (0-1)
I was on the draw. In G1 he T4'ed me with Swiftspear and lots of Probes, Manamorphoses, Mutagenic Growth, and Battle Rage. He took G2 on T4 again with another Battle Rage backed up by Dispel, which is to say, he had the nuts. We played another two games because we had time and I won both of those, though.
vs. Suicide Zoo: 0-2 (0-2)
Again on the draw, I again ran into very early Battle Rages twice in a row. Gotta have the removal here, and don't tap out for something else--but Blessed Alliance is not great when they have multiple attackers and loads of pump spells so early-on.
vs. Affinity: 0-2 (0-3)
This time my opponent had double Plating on Ornithopter in the first couple turns in both games. Again I was on the draw as well. Sometimes they draw well and we draw poorly....
vs. Dredge: 2-1 (1-3)
Guess how many Relics it took to win this one. Go on, guess! That's right, ZERO. Did not draw a Relic in three games. Not my night, though at least I was on the play this time for G1. I still lost handily. Both G2 and G3 went to me, because in each game I was able to cast a single Surgical Extraction (paying mana for it each time, no less) in response to Bloodghast triggers, which stranded his Amalgams in the yard very nicely. Path backed up the Extraction plan and allowed me to race for the win. Amalgam does a lot more damage than Ghast, and can block after its first turn, but they need to cheat it into play--and Ghast is MUCH more reliable for that than dredging into a Narcomoeba is.
Playing against Lantern is a mull-to-hate match. Maybe board in the Stony, but don't play it until your Bombs are gone. Leyline makes the match much harder when they stick it, and blocks off the play I've used a couple of times for the win, which is to Path my own TKS, forcing the draw, which turns on my Spirit tokens to swing under their Bridge.
UBR Grixis Death's shadow
I find the dig ability of this build pretty key to my success, with Relic, Mind Stone, Reshaper, and Sea Gate Wreckage all doing their part.
On another topic, and IMHO and FWIW and YMMV, I don't think I could ever play around Blood Moon as successfully as I do (and I do--I really do not worry about Moon decks anymore) without three Marsh Flats and a Wastes in the 75. Wastes bumps a utility land, and Flats is expensive and narrow in terms of the decks that might play it, but if you want this deck to reach its full potential, I think both are needed. Might not be so important in a FNM-type meta but in a wider field they will make a difference for sure.
That's why I've gone down to 3 strangler and 4 reshapers, I'd love to have 4 of each but it's really hard to make that happen as I don't want to take anything else out. Other than the situations you mentioned (reshaper being much better T2 play, flipping a strangler with the trigger), being able to target reshaper in order to process a search for tomorrow or Ancestral Vision is much better than having to target the strangler itself. These reasons are why I run 4 reshapers, the biggest being I really really like reshaper as a T2 play and want that as often as possible, and strangler is more difficult to guarantee value beyond a 3/2 body. If you play a reshaper you are highly likely going to get value from the trigger, or from them pathing it, thus having one less removal for a TKS/Smasher followup. Ideally I'd have 4 of each, but it's hard to get 16 creatures in the maindeck. Oh, I also forgot, getting a reshaper trigger into a land ramp or them pathing it for ramp before your T3 is really good with smasher (obviously if you dropped a T2 reshaper you've got the temple).
WG G/W Tron GW
BG G/B Tron GB
GG Mono G Tron GG
RG G/R Tron GR
Turn 1 discard is never risky. It helps us plan out our remaining turns and we can remove their best card from their hand. It is amazing if they mulligan and keep a shaky hand. Discard through thoughtseize or inquisition of kozilek is one of the main reasons to run B.
Phyrexian metamorph is horrible when we don't have a board presence. I would rather play something else.
Thanks for the nice sideboard guide! I do have a few comments/questions:
Infect
You should board in warping wail rather than a sorcery speed removal (declaration in stone) and a card that cannot hit lands (ratchet bomb)
Affinity
Zealous persecution is great in this matchup. Looking at your decklist I would try something like this:
Out: relic x4, thoughtseize x2, iok x2, go for the throat
In: ratchet, disenchant, zealous, declaration, pithing, languish, stony x2, damnation x1
Soul sisters
Discard is not as great in this matchup. All of their creatures have such a low CMC that they just dump their hand in the first couple of turns. I would side out the relics before matter reshaper. Bring in that disenchant to take care of honor of the pure.
Why do you bring in warping wail for blue moon?
You should try out a worship in the side sometime. Some decks cannot beat it.
Sadly it is not for us. It would be good in a bw deadguy ale brew. I was hoping for a -3/-3 3CMC sweeper instead. That would be great against zoo decks.
The worst part about this card is that now we know damnation will not be reprinted.
CBW midrange deck
CBW eldrazi processor deck
CBW bw eldrazi shadow midrange
Infect: Yes, I do like warping wail against infect rather than bomb and declaration. I'll try it out.
Affinity: Again everything you say makes perfect sense. Better choices than I what I initial had.
Blue moon: Depending on the list warping wail can hit TiTi or can make a scion in response to BM giving you access to C which is super crucial if there is no mind stone/wastes out.
Souls sisters: I've honestly never played against it I just know it exists.
Yes I know all about worship. It can be pretty silly and give you a win where you have no right winning!
Thanks for all your feedback. Much appreciated!
UBR Grixis Death's shadow
Here's my comments:
Bant Eldrazi - Definitely bring in Blessed Alliance here. Usually only the sacrifice is relevant, but hitting a TKS or Smasher with it will happen very often, which is great. You've got relics to take out for them, they are way better than a cantrip here. I had not been bringing Pithing Needle in for this matchup, I overlooked how crazy the Displacer/Drowner combo can destroy us late in a stalled board-state. I run two Pithings and I think I'll try bringing them in and taking out more copies of Lingering Souls. Souls is quite weak against any deck running maindeck EE/ratchet and Smashers.
Speaking of Pithing Needles, I'm not sure if this is agreed upon widely, but personally I bring them in against any Sakura-Tribe Elder decks, pretty much Breach and Valakut. The way I see it is shutting down Tribe elder will slow them down, and that is exactly what we need to do in both matchups, be faster.
R/G Tron - Not sure if GftT is worth keeping in for pretty much just World Breaker, which is better to exile anyway.
Kiki Chord - I keep Thoughtseize in here, wanting as much hand removal to keep them off a T4 kiki combo. Obviously seize isn't great with their graveyard play through Eternal Witness, but I see Lingering Souls as weak in this matchup so I take two copies of that out instead. Not sure who's plan is better here, just mentioning that I do this matchup differently.
Cards - It seems Warping Wail is not brought in very often, especially against the higher % played decks. Maybe its a local metal choice and does work, but if it's not I suggest taking them out. I see Collective Brutality as basically a better version of WW, especially when the biggest draw to both is stopping a powerful sorcery (CoBr insant as well). With two open slots in the SB I'd bring in a second pithing needle, insta win in some games and useful in so many matchups. Your SB guide inspired me to rewrite one up for my current list, and out of 32+ matchups I bring Pithing in for 20, and in quite a few drawing both is great (infect and affinity for example). With the other slot without a doubt Anguished Unmaking. I see having one in the 75 minimum as highly important. Problem permanents (Ensnaring Bridge) and matchups where it shines (Tron/Infect) make it an asset that needs to be something you can bring in for G2 and 3.
I've also recently learned that at FNM you are allowed to have sideboard notes, you're just only allowed to look at them during sideboarding between games. It's a crutch I can use since I've only been playing mtg for basically a year and there's no way I can mentally catalog 30+ possible decks to face, and what to take out or bring in for them all. Also, running into time and losing or tying because of it sucks, so speeding up the sideboard part of the match is good, especially if you have no clue what to do in a certain matchup.
I like skite to interrupt buff decks like infect and bogles(as well as for stopping opponent's path on my TKS or smasher, when I hear 'in response to thought-knots trigger, path it', I die a little inside. It's just a solid T2 play to protect a T3 followup TKS or if the mtg gods are shining down on me T3 smasher), fulminator to slow down land decks like tron and valakut, and EE for asap removal of wide and/or fast aggro. Everything else is pretty standard for the sideboard.
Here's what Ive got(copying your framework out of laziness which I will play off as efficiency, I will say though not much a fan of the PtE abbreviation as it's only one letter shorter than path). Also the link in my sig is up to date list + sideboard:
PtE = Path to exile, TS = thoughtseize, IoK = inquisition of kozilek, RoP = relic of progenitus, CoBr = collective brutality, GtfT = Go for the throat, Dec = Declaration in Stone, BA = Blessed alliance
Deck: Junk
Out: -1 reshaper, -1 Sorin , -3 TS, -1 strangler
In: +2 Needle, +2 Damnation, +1 skite, +1 anguish
Deck: Jund
Out: -3 TS, -1 sorin, -1 reshaper
In: +2 Needle, +2 Damn, +1 anguish
Deck: Abzan CoCo
Out: -1 sorin, -3 TS, -4 souls
In: +1 anguish, +2 Damn, +1 CoBr, +2 Needle, +2 EE
Deck: Affinity
Out: -2 smasher, -3 TS, -4 RoP
In: +2 EE, +2 Stony, +2 Damn, +1 anguish, +2 Needle
Deck: (stupid) Elves
Out: -4 Relic, -1 Smasher, -1TS
In: +2 Damnation, +1 anguish, +2 EE, +1 Pithing
Deck: Infect
Out: -1 Sorin, -4 smasher, -2 mind stone, -2 reshaper
In: +1 skite, +1 anguish, +2 Needle, +1 CoBr, +2 EE, +2 BA
Deck: Bant Eldrazi
Out: -4 souls, -4RoP, -1 ratchet
In: +1 skite, +2 Damnation, +2 Needle. +2 BA, +1 fulm, +1 anguish
Deck: Merfolk
Out: -4 Relic, -2 reshaper
In: +1 anguish, +2 EE, +2 Damnation, +1 timely
Deck: Burn
Out: -3 TS, -1 dismember, -1 relic
In: +2 BA, +1 skite, +1 timely, +1 CoBr
Deck: Dredge
Out: -3 TS, -1 dismember
In: +2 Damnation, +1 timely, +1 anguish
Deck: Death’s Shadow
Out: -1 dismember, -2 Mind Stone, -4 smasher
In: +2 BA, +1 anguish, +2 EE, +1 skite, +1 CoBr
Deck: D&T
Out: -1 Sorin, -4 RoP, -1 smasher, -1 reshaper
In: +2 Damn, +1 skite, +2 Needle, +1 anguish, +1 CoBr
Deck: Zoo
Out: -3 TS, -1 dismember, -2 Relics, -2 smasher
In: +2 BA, +2 Damn, +1 timely, +1 CoBr, +2 EE
Deck: Bogles
Out: -4 PtE, -1 dismember, -2 RoP, -1 sorin
In: +1 anguish, +2 Damnation, +1 skite, +2 EE, +2 Blessed Alliance
Deck: RG Tron
Out: -4 RoP, -1 dismember, -1 ratchet
In: +2 Stony, +2 Needle, +1 anguish, +1 fulm
Deck: Esper Control
Out: -4 PtE, -1 dismember, -1 strangler
In: +1 anguish, +2 Needle, +1 CoBr, +1 skite, +1 fulm
Deck: UW Control
Out: -4 PtE, -1 dismember
In: +2 Needle, +1 fulm, +1 skite, +1 CoBr
Deck: Jeskai Nahiri
Out: -4 PtE, -1 Sorin, -1 dismember
In: +1 anguish, +2 Needle, +1 skite, +1 fulm, +1 CoBr
Deck: Grixis Delver
Out: -3 TS, -2 Mind Stone, -2 smasher
In: +2 EE, +2 blessed, +1 skite, +1 CoBr, +1 timely
Deck: Grixis Control
Out: -1 Sorin, -3 strangler, -1 ratchet
In: +2 pithing, +1 skite, +1 anguish, +1 CoBr
Deck: Blue Moon
Out: -1 dismember, -2 Strangler
In: +1 anguish, +1 CoBr, +1 skite
Deck: Soul Sisters
Out: -3 TS, -1 dismember, -1 PtE, -1 RoP (couldn't decide on Path or relic, relic seeming relevant because of Proclimation of Rebirth, but I had to look up a list on Mtggoldfish because Ive personally never played this matchup. It says 50% of decks run 3 copies, so maybe the decision comes down to whether you see it in game 1. I also see T2 reshaper as very relevant against their quick open)
In: +2 Damnation, +1 anguish, +1 Pithing, +2 EE
Deck: Kiki Chord
Out: -1 sorin, -2 smasher, -2 souls
In: +1 anguish, +2 Damn, +2 Needle
Deck: Scapeshift
Out: -4PtE
In: +2 needle, +1 fulm, +1 CoBr
Deck: Living End
Out: -4 souls, -1 ratchet
In: +1 anguished, +2 Damnation, +2 needle
Deck: Ad Nauseam
Out: -4 PtE, -1 Sorin, -1 dismember
In: +2 Stony, +1 anguish, +2 Needle, +1 CoBr
Deck: Reanimator
Out: -1 ratchet, -1 dismember, -1 PtE
In: +1 CoBr, +2 Needle
Deck: TiTi Ascension
Out: -4 souls (honestly not liking this choice, but I see relic as very key if you don't have removal for Ascension. If that thing goes off, with how much they can dig they can take the game over very fast. Paths need to stay in for TiTi removal, and I feel like all the eldrazi need to stay in for pressure because we need to be faster)
In: +2 EE, +1 anguish, +1 CoBr
Deck: Storm
Out: -2 PtE, -1 dismember, -1 Sorin
In: +2 EE, +1 anguish, +1 CoBr
Deck: TitanBreach
Out: -1 dismember, -1 ratchet, -2 relic
In: +1 CoBr, +1 fulm, +2 pithing
Deck: Bant Spirits
Out: -4 relic, -1 Sorin, -1 dismember
In: +2 damn, +2 pithing, +2 EE
Deck: R/G Ponza
Out: -4 relic
In: +2 pithing, +1 CoBr, +1 anguish
Deck: Temur Battlerage (basically this)
Out: -4 souls, -1 smasher, -2 mind stone
In: +2 EE, +2 blessed, +1 timely, +1 skite, +1 CoBr
Deck: U/B Mill
Out: none
In: +2 EE, +1 anguish, +1 CoBr
Deck: Bant Knightfall
Out: -3 TS, -1 Sorin, -1 smasher, -1 reshaper
In: +2 damn, +2 pithing, +1 skite, +1 fulm
This isn't even close to perfect, and I'm definitely looking for criticism or ideas to make this list better.
WG G/W Tron GW
BG G/B Tron GB
GG Mono G Tron GG
RG G/R Tron GR
I went 4-0-1 and ID'ed final round to tie for first last might; played the match out with my opponent for fun and beat hm 2-0. We had 32 players last night.
vs. BG Rock: 2-1 (1-0)
In G1 he out valued me with 2 Scooze, 2 Kitchen Finks, and a Kalitas, but I was able to pull out G2 after killing a Scooze with Collective Brutality and taking his Maelstrom Pulse off a discard. In G3, Vault allowed my Smasher to push through his blockers for exactsies on T4 of rounds for the win.
vs. Mono-B Devotion: 2-0 (2-0)
In G1 he was not able to apply much pressure as I took his hand apart with Thoughtseize and TKS; G2 saw him fall to a huge flood of Swamps that he flipped off Bob for many turns in a row. I got lucky in this game after a dubious keep. Smasher proved himself as a planeswalker-destroyer again in dealing with a Lili that otherwise was able to get my creatures and shred my hand.
vs. UG Infect: (2-0) (3-0)
A highly favored match for Processors went as it could be expected to. Drew all three Ghost Quarters in G! and with a couple of Lingering Souls and some removal from Strangler I found an easy win. The threat we really care about here is Blighted Agent, which I saw two of in my opponent's hand on my first turn in G2. I sat on a Path and allowed him to hit me with the Agent I left him, plus a Become Immense I know he had, suspecting he had the Vines or Blooming Defense to back it up, and knowing I would be able to get his Agent with my Ratchet Bomb next turn regardless. (herfs, I disagree about Bomb/Explosives against Infect. Added removal is always good in this match and the artifacts will kill dudes regardless of hexproof effects.) This paid off for me as his sole remaining threat--an Inkmoth Nexus--wasn't able to push through my Spirits.
vs. Jund: 2-1 (4-0)
My opponent was a little salty that I'd kept am opener with a fetch land, two Temples, Ghost Quarter, Caves of Koilos and two Lingering Souls. He was forced to Thoughtseize a Souls as I drew into the threats I had hoped to see when I kept. I won that game handily after I drew into Sorin. I lost G2 to a Kalitas for which I had no removal. Kalitas is by far Jund's best threat against us, and is always priority #1 for me to deal with when I see it. G3 was pretty easy as I drew into a lot of removal and had 2x Smasher for a rapid close.
vs. Naya Burn: ID, but played it out going 2-0 (4-0-1)
My opponent dropped a Nacatl and a suspended Rift Bolt on his T2, which I was happy to ruin with a Strangler on my next turn. Collective Brutality for all three modes helped seal the deal as I discarded some useless Relics. In G2 he played too conservatively, holding back from aggressive attacks into a Strangler and a Reshaper until I drew into both Smasher and Vault, which easily put the game away.
I guess I'm not really in the right headspace to write a bunch about sideboarding right now. However I will say that Pithing Needle is huge and comes in a lot; Ratchet Bomb is useful in a wide variety of matches from aggro to prison decks, and Anguished Unmaking as a 2-of in the 75 seems to answer a huge number of troublesome permanents. Collective Brutality is amazing, but recently Blessed Alliance has not lived up to its early promise for me. That might be because I just haven't had it in hand at the right time though.
It just feels dead / slow against some decks and i haven't got enough Stuff to board in here.
Green @ it's best
If you look for the times I take out all 4 RoP in the list I wrote up, it happens only in matchups where they have ZERO graveyard play and I'm siding in like 7-9 cards and need to make some room (affinity, Bant Eldrazi, Tron). The cantrip of a T1 or T2 relic for card advantage is something to not undervalue, and as Deaddrift states, the ability to dig through the deck is very important as our deck consists of 3 things - threats, removal, ways to dig for them. Also a topdeck relic late isn't really that bad, as you can probably play it and crack it for a new card right away. It's not like topping a Thoughtseize after T5 bad. If there's an opportunity at all to get value from the graveyard exile ability on RoP, I'm definitely doing everything I can to keep it in. It's just such a value card against the graveyard play that is all over modern.
edit: I've also had incredibly durdly opens where I go through 3 relics and both mind stones by turn 5-6 and don't get threats, but I don't think that means the cards are bad for the deck, just variance.
WG G/W Tron GW
BG G/B Tron GB
GG Mono G Tron GG
RG G/R Tron GR
i went for a 1-3 at my local playgroup yesterday.
Has been screwed very often and drew teh wrong side of my deck.
Round 1: BW Tokens
I mulled to 5. First i had 2 Lands, but no Spell below 3cmc, 2nd i got only 1 Land.
I've kept a 2 Lander w/o any real business at all.
I resolved lingering souls w/ flashback, but he had Virtue + zealous persecution
ftw. 0-1
Macht 2 i dropped Eldrazi's and he slowrolled and flooded out. 1-1
Match 3 i had to mull again and he had double Virtue into Souls + spectral procession.
I chumped for 2 turns but my lonely Smasher couldn't keep up with teh pressure. 1-2
Round 2: UWr Nahiri
I had to mull again. He suspended ancestral vision, but sadly my Strangler wasn't nowhere.
He drew into 3 Cards and killed me with Celestial Colonnade and snapcaster Beatdown. 0-1
Match 2 i held teh upper hand, but couldn't handle a T3 Ancestral again. He was stuck on 4 Mana, dropped
his first Nahiri, the Harbinger. Celestial Purge. 2nd Nahiri, Anguished Unmaking. Elspeth, Sun's Champion, Pithing Needle takes care of.
His Vision resolved and drew him some removal, but that wasn't finally enough. 1-1
Match 3 brought down to trading stuff. He handled both of my shambling vent but Smasher put
him down quickly. 2-1
Round 3: Bogles
Match 1 she had a Bogle with Enchantments and beats me for 6 Lifelink evey turn. 0-1
Match 2 i saw only Creatures on her side and my Eldrazi's attacked relentless until the win. 1-1
Match 3 there was a Bogle and a bunch of enchantments. When she casted Rancor, i
responded with Anguished for Umbra and her Daybreak coronet were gone too. Sadly
she held a 2nd one in hand and beats me to death. 1-2
Round 4: UR TiTi
Match 1 i doom bladed his TiTi, but he followed up with a 2nd one. This one flips
as i saw no removal. I chumped some turns but couldn't keep up with a 7/8. 0-1
Match 2 i was droppin' Names and beat him down constantly. I took care of his creatures and
went for the win. 1-1
Match 3 i was on teh backfoot again (mull to 5, 2 swamp as my only lands).
I beat him with Smasher and Sorin in Game, trying to stabilize on 6 life. Awoken Horror
beats my, but i hoped to race him with Sorin + Smasher (i had no other outs). He finally brought me
down to 4, i stripped a Bolt from his Hand. He drew into a Swiftspear + Bolt which sealed teh deal.
1-2
Overall thoughts:
Teh Matches were i couldn't establish board-presence and apply pressure were horribly.
I feel teh need of always keeping a hand with at least 2 Eldrazi's to even get things going.
The hands with lingering souls felt super-clunky and it was the CArd that disappoints
me teh most yesterday.
Green @ it's best
I would cut: 2x Mind Stone (absolutely unnecessary imho with E.Temples and 24 lands), 1x Declaration in Stone ,1x Sorin, Solemn Visitor and 1x Collective Brutality (or another discard spell).
And add 1x Matter Reshaper and 4x Eternal Scourge (a great card in this deck with Relic of Progenitus + Eldrazi Temple to back it up).
Sounds like a great tip (not so much).
And Scourge? Do i need another 3/x to beef up my squad?
Sadly this one doesn't really give me direct Card Advantage.
Instead i need to pay 3 over and over again.
14 Creatures were plenty enough. Even worse, tehy cluttered my hand many times.
An opener with a bunch of 3-,4- and 5-Drops is only reliable with a Temple or Mind stone.
Green @ it's best
Eternal Scourge is a great creature which can't be killed (especially with Relic) and with Eldrazi Temple it basically costs 2-mana and makes opponents removal become Unsummon.
Hume86,
I wouldn't play Ulamog's Nullifier as it's not good enough and overcosted (and you already have Delay to counter spells).
Spell Queller would be much better instead.
B.Herder and W.Strangler seem like the only worthwhile processors.
Lingering souls is such a good card. Sure it's not great against a token deck where their focus is to make linger souls busted but not all cards are good against all match ups. On the other hand having them against BGx decks when they play a lili is just sweet. If you're really against it cut and try out something else. Don't trade away your souls tho' because you're going to come back to them.
I tried scourge for a while. It's great against grindy match ups (GBx) but overall was underwhelming. Quite slow. Sure it's a 2 mana 3/3 every turn when you've got a relic but that's a three card combo that doesn't do all that much.
Bant Eldrazi: Yeh I like BA here and pithing needle is huge for the reasons you stated.
Valakut: So you bring in pithing needle of the Elder. Interesting. I'll try that out next time.
RG tron: is not a match up I've faced too often so I don't have a huge amount of exp against it. You be right to keep GftT in.
Kiki chord: I find their overwhelming redundancy makes TS next to useless.
Wail was included because of the large amount of RG ponza decks being played at my store. Blood moons and stone rains everywhere. But yeah, 2nd pithing needle will come in. I'll try out unmaking too.
I'll take a proper look over your SB guide later but don't you just slide in all your SB against mill? Their plan is to mill so having more cards is like having more life. I'd start at 22.5 life against burn if I could game 2.
UBR Grixis Death's shadow
I think it's best to only bring in relevant SB cards and trim nothing against mill. We are still racing them and drawing a dead card like stony silence or Damnation is really bad.
WG G/W Tron GW
BG G/B Tron GB
GG Mono G Tron GG
RG G/R Tron GR
I too play Needle against Scapeshift; some newer players even let you name a fetch land with it when they have one in play, which can really shut them down. If they crack in response, I name Elder, and that has won me games before more than once. I have also seen decks with Khalni Heart Expedition, which is another good target.
I don't like Go for the Throat against Gx Tron, because of Wurmcoil, but my other creature removal is relevant, coming to replace Relics and Sorin.
All the creature removal is relevant for in the Bant Eldrazi match; Needle comes in to name Displacer (or possibly another target like Spellskite, Engineered Explosives, or Drowner of Hope, depending on the board state when I land it).
Here is a brief overview of what I have my SB cards for, not sure if this will be helpful or not:
- B) Use Path to hit one of my own dudes, hopefully a Spirit token or possibly Strangler
- C) Get a Swamp with the Path unless I really need C right away for some reason. Since I have a Wastes and two Mind Stones, my odds of drawing into a colorless mana source are better than drawing into B and much better than drawing into W.
I also swap Wastes in for any and all matches where I expect Path or Ghost Quarter to be used against me; but I prefer it in the side, since Cavern is so enormously helpful against blue decks, and Vault is an important lifegain card that synergizes extremely well with our two most important win-cons: Smasher and Souls. Since these utility lands are not tutorable the way Wastes is, it seems wiser to me to main them, and side them out as appropriate, so I get maximum percentage out of each.
On another note, I went 1-3 on Monday in a field of ~30. Not my night.
vs. Suicide Bloo: 0-2 (0-1)
I was on the draw. In G1 he T4'ed me with Swiftspear and lots of Probes, Manamorphoses, Mutagenic Growth, and Battle Rage. He took G2 on T4 again with another Battle Rage backed up by Dispel, which is to say, he had the nuts. We played another two games because we had time and I won both of those, though.
vs. Suicide Zoo: 0-2 (0-2)
Again on the draw, I again ran into very early Battle Rages twice in a row. Gotta have the removal here, and don't tap out for something else--but Blessed Alliance is not great when they have multiple attackers and loads of pump spells so early-on.
vs. Affinity: 0-2 (0-3)
This time my opponent had double Plating on Ornithopter in the first couple turns in both games. Again I was on the draw as well. Sometimes they draw well and we draw poorly....
vs. Dredge: 2-1 (1-3)
Guess how many Relics it took to win this one. Go on, guess! That's right, ZERO. Did not draw a Relic in three games. Not my night, though at least I was on the play this time for G1. I still lost handily. Both G2 and G3 went to me, because in each game I was able to cast a single Surgical Extraction (paying mana for it each time, no less) in response to Bloodghast triggers, which stranded his Amalgams in the yard very nicely. Path backed up the Extraction plan and allowed me to race for the win. Amalgam does a lot more damage than Ghast, and can block after its first turn, but they need to cheat it into play--and Ghast is MUCH more reliable for that than dredging into a Narcomoeba is.
I've been playing BW Tokens (non budget build) and find it rather too slow for my meta.
I'm thinking of converting it to BW Processors for the time being as I have most of the cards already.
Can I know why some lists play 4 concealed courtyard and some play none? isn't the fast land better in this case as we aim to t1 discard?
Having to play a tapped land on T4 sucks when you have a thought-knot seer in hand (or temple + 2 land and reality smasher).
UBR Grixis Death's shadow
Personally, I am just trying them out.
Some lists do not run that much discard and do not need them. If you run 5+ thoughtseize or iok, I would try them out to see if they work.
CBW midrange deck
CBW eldrazi processor deck
CBW bw eldrazi shadow midrange